Germany investigates disappeared citizens in Egypt
January 7, 2019
Two German nationals have disappeared in Egypt, one after encountering authorities at Cairo airport. The German government said it had been investigating the "separate cases" for days now.
Image: picture-alliance
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The German Foreign Ministry on Monday said two German men with dual citizenship have disappeared in Egypt.
"There are two separate cases of German citizens who have been reported missing," said a ministry spokesman. "We have been dealing with them for a few days now and we are taking both cases very seriously."
One of the men, an 18-year-old from the central city of Giessen, is believed to have disappeared before he was scheduled to take a domestic flight from Luxor to Cairo, according to his father.
"It has been three weeks and there is no trace," the man's father told German news agency dpa. "Nobody knows if he is still alive."
The other man, a 23-year-old from Göttingen, was detained at Cairo airport while attempting to enter the country. His current location is unclear, but DPA news reported that he may be held in "the headquarters of the intelligence agency," citing contacts on the ground.
It is unclear if the German men, who both have Egyptian citizenship, had a history of working on human rights issues. However, human rights groups frequently criticize Egypt for disappearing those working on rights in the country.
Since October, at least 40 human rights workers, lawyers and activists have been arrested or disappeared, according to Human Rights Watch (HRW).
"The Egyptian security agencies' repression now extends to disappearing those brave men and women who have been trying to protect the disappeared and to end this abusive practice," said Michael Page, deputy Middle East director at HRW, in November.
The rise of Islamic extremism in and around Egypt since the 1990s has seen a big rise the number of attacks targeting tourists and non-Muslims. DW looks back at some of the most devastating.
Image: picture-alliance/AA
1997 Luxor massacre
Sixty-two tourists were killed at Egypt's Deir el-Bahri archaeological site in Luxor. Six assailants, thought to have been linked to al-Qaida, disguised themselves as members of the security forces and descended on the temple armed with automatic machine guns and knives. Egyptian tourist police and military forces eventually stopped the attackers, who were either killed or committed suicide.
Image: picture-alliance/AP Photo/M. El-Dakhakhny
2004 Sinai bombings
A series of bomb attacks targeting tourists in Egypt's Sinai Peninsula killed 34 people and injured 171. Most of the casualties were killed after a truck drove into the lobby of the Taba Hilton. Two more bombs went off at campsites some 50 kilometers away, killing a handful of people. Roughly half the casualties were foreigners, including 12 Israelis.
Image: picture-alliance/AP Photo/A. Nabil
2005 Sharm el-Sheikh attacks
The attack in the Egyptian resort city of Sharm el-Sheikh was carried out on Egypt's Revolution Day and for a decade remained the worst Islamist attack in Egypt's history. A series of bombs planted close to bars and restaurants, as well as by a hotel, killed 88 people and injured 150. The majority of victims were locals, although a number of tourists also died, including 11 British nationals.
Image: dpa
2006 Dahab bombings
The attack on the the Egyptian resort city of Dahab marked the third consecutive year that tourist resorts had been targeted. A series of blasts in a restaurant, a café and a market killed at least 23 people, most of whom were local, and wounded around 80. Egyptian officials maintain that the attacks were carried out by the Islamist cell known as Jama'at al-Tawhid wal-Jihad, a forerunner of "IS."
Image: AP
2015 Metrojet Flight 9268 disaster
All 224 mostly Russian passengers were killed when Metrojet Flight 9268 suddenly dropped out of the sky over the Egypt's Sinai peninsula, shortly after having taken off from Sharm el-Sheikh international airport. Authorities agree that it appeared a bomb had been snuck on board. The so-called "Islamic State" jihadi group claimed responsibility for the attack.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/M. Grigoriev
2016 Attacks on Egypt's Coptic Christian minorities
While Egypt's Coptic Christians have for decades been targeted by Islamists, deadly attacks on Coptic churches have increased dramatically in recent months. At least 102 Egyptian Christians have been killed in four separate attacks since December 2016.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/Stringer
2017 Coptic church and Al-Rawda mosque bombings
On April 9, 2017, the Coptic church faith followers encountered devastating twin blasts in Tanta and Alexandria as they celebrated Palm Sunday, killing 28 and 17 people respectively. On November 24, 2017, a bomb went off outside of Al-Rawda mosque in the city of Al-Arish in the northern Sinai Peninsula, which claimed the lives of more than 300 people and injured 109 others.